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The odd-even effect in multiplication: parity rule or familiarity with even numbers?

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Lochy, A Seron, Xavier [UCL] Delazer, M Butterworth, B

This study questions the evidence that a parity rule is used during the verification of multiplication. Previous studies reported that products are rejected faster when they violate the expected parity, which was attributed to the use of a rule (Krueger, 1986; Lemaire & Fayol, 1995). This experiment tested an alternative explanation of this effect: the familiarity hypothesis. Fifty subjects participated in a verification task with contrasting types of problems (even x even, odd x odd, mixed). Some aspects of our results constitute evidence against the use of the parity rule: False even answers were rejected slowly, even when the two operands were odd. We suggest that the odd-even effect in verification of multiplication could not be due to the use of the parity rule, but rather to a familiarity with even numbers (three quarters of products are indeed even).

Document type Article de périodique (Journal article) – Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Publication date 2000
Journal information "Memory & cognition" - Vol. 28, no. 3, p. 358-65 (2000)
Peer reviewed yes
issn 0090-502X
Publication status Publié
Affiliation UCL - PSP/PSP - Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation
MESH Subject Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Logic ; Male ; Mathematics ; Memory ; Models, Psychological ; Problem Solving ; Psycholinguistics
Links
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Bibliographic reference Lochy, A ; Seron, Xavier ; Delazer, M ; Butterworth, B. The odd-even effect in multiplication: parity rule or familiarity with even numbers?. In: Memory & cognition, Vol. 28, no. 3, p. 358-65 (2000)
Permanent URL http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/8566